I wrote a series of "CTIA report" on Japanese publication WirelessWire News. http://wirelesswire.jp/Inside_Out/201205080858.html

http://wirelesswire.jp/Inside_Out/201205091511.html

http://wirelesswire.jp/Inside_Out/201205102204.html

http://wirelesswire.jp/Inside_Out/201205111022.html

I wrote on the first day that there seem to be more people on the floor than past years, but a friend at a booth told me booth traffic was "horrible". Either way, this year they have changed the dates and format, and attracted vast number of small companies (including a whole bunch from China and Latin America), so I saw a tide shift in CTIA direction. Interesting to see how it evolves next year.

This year, contrast between the keynote sessions and show floor was quite clear. Keynote speakers unanimously agree that "US has regained the global leader position in mobile", which I believe is true, but the show floor was really fragmented, with a lot of big name vendors perpetually absent.

Some may see it as a disappointment, but I felt that it is a conscious effort of CTIA organizer that they want to start from the beginning - the bazaar of small vendors selling to many small buyers (carrier and others), thus stimulating innovation, whatever from traffic off-load to stupid phone skins.

As the mobile thunder is already stolen away by Apple and Google, it may be a good strategy to go.